Fabric blank,method of manufacturing such fabric blank and a garment comprising the fabric blank

ABSTRACT

A fabric blank, comprising a first yarn ( 10 ) consisting of polyamide or polyester or blends of any of these materials with cotton, is characterized in that a second yarn ( 12 ) is included into at least a portion of said fabric blank, said second yarn being polyether-based and thermally bonded to said first yarn.

The invention relates to a fabric blank, comprising a first yarnconsisting of a polyamide or polyester or blends of any of thesematerials with cotton. The invention further relates to a method ofmanufacturing such a fabric blank and to a garment comprising the fabricblank. the invention is in particular applicable to garments andcorsetry.

Garments and corsetry, such as girdles, panties, body suits, swim suits,brassieres and the like usually are fabricated by providing a fabricblank which is either knit, warp knit or woven from, for example,synthetic fiber yarn, such as nylon or polyester yarn, regenerated fiberyarn, such as rayon, acetate or cuprammonium rayon yarn, natural fiberyarn, such as cotton, silk, flax, or wool yarn. It is known in the artto vary the yarns in thickness and to use different kind of yarns toachieve at desired characteristics of the fabric blank, so thatdifferent areas of the garment can be given different properties. Eventhough the knit structure already makes the garment resilientlystretchable, vertically and horizontally, it may be an option to insertelastic yarns in order to optimize the characteristics of the fabricblank with regard to the intended garment. Normally, polyurethane isused as a basic material for elastic yarns.

The fabric blank can then be cut along the outline of the desiredgarment, and preferably, the cutting is performed in a cutting machine(pressure, click out) or in a sewing machine that also simultaneouslysews decorative and/or elastic banding along the cut edges so as tocreate a finished edge of the garment.

The outline of a garment is arranged on the fabric blank in such amanner that longer edges of the garment are brought in coincidence withthe edges of the fabric blank. This relates, for example, to the edge ofa brassiere below the breast cups or the leg hems of a panty.

Sometimes, it would be desired that a curved hem is provided forwearer's comfort and improved appearance of the garment. It is, however,not possible to simply cut these curves, because the hems are formed bya selvedge of the blank which would become frayed if it is cut.

In this respect a brassiere is known wherein the fabric is laminated toanother layer, for example by gluing, so that a composite is formedwhich can be cut without fraying. However, the optical appearance andwearer's comfort are degraded.

It is the object of the invention to provide a fabric blank which offersthe possibility to provide curve sections even at the selvedges of theblank without the risk that the cut becomes frayed.

This object is solved by a fabric blank as defined in claim 1.

According to the invention, a second yarn is included into at least aportion of said fabric blank, said second yarn being polyether-based andthermally bonded to said first yarn. This additional yarn may be a meltspinning spandex which has advantageous characteristics which make itsuitable for garments, such as soft tightening power, sufficient alkaliresistance, good setting ability and excellent binding performance. Byheat fusing the second yarn to the first yarn, it is possible to avoidravel, curl and slip-in.

It is also possible to insert an elastic yarn into at least a portion ofsaid fabric blank, and it may be that the portion comprising the elasticyarn and the portion comprising said thermally bonded yarn are differentfrom one another or are overlapped.

A method of manufacturing a fabric blank as described above comprisesthat steps of:

-   -   a) weaving, knitting or said first yarn;    -   b) inserting said second yarn into at least a portion of a        fabric blank during or after weaving or knitting said first        yarn; and    -   c) optionally, inserting an elastic yarn into the same or        another portion of said fabric; and    -   d) heat fusing said second yarn to said first yarn.

The process allows for a wide range of processing temperatures, and itis preferred that the temperature during heat fusing is between about110° C. and 190° C. The suitable fusing temperature will depend on thefineness of the yarns, the material of the yarns. Yarn breakage byoverly high temperature must avoided.

A garment comprising the fabric blank as defined above is characterizedin that at least one portion of the fabric blank comprising saidthermally bonded yarn is in a region subjected to cut during productionof said garment.

Said garment may be a brassiere, and said portion comprising saidthermally bonded yarn extending below a breast cup.

Said garment may also be a panty, a body suit or a swim suit, and saidportion comprising said thermally bonded yarn extending in the leg hempart.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become more apparent from the following description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic stitch representation for explaining a conditionin which thermally bonded yarn is inserted in a ground stitch;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating a condition in whichthe yarns are thermally bonded to another where part of the fabric iscut away;

FIG. 3 is a representation similar to that of FIG. 1, additionallyincluding an elastic yarn;

FIG. 4 is a representation similar to FIG. 2, including elastic yarn;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a part of a fabric blank toproduce a brassiere; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a part of a fabric blank toproduce a panty-girdle or pants.

In FIG. 1, numeral 10 indicates loops of inelastic yarn knitted in aground stitch. The inelastic yarn may be a polyamide or a polyester. Asecond yarn 12 passes each single loop, so that, after been thermallybonded to said inelastic yarn 10, the configuration of loops isstabilized.

FIG. 2 shows the situation where part of the fabric is cut away, but thestructure of the ground stitch is fixed by the thermally bonded sites ofinelastic yarn 10 and thermally bondable yarn 12.

FIG. 3 is a similar representation to that of FIG. 1, where additionallyan elastic yarn 14 is inserted to impart strength and elasticity to thefabric.

FIG. 4, which is similar to FIG. 2, shows that when part of the fabricis cut, the fabric is still fixed by the bonding sites of inelastic yarn10 and thermally bondable yarn 12.

It has turned out that, if polyester or polyamide is chosen as materialfor the inelastic yarn 10, the thermally bondable yarn 12 must bepolyether-based.

FIG. 5 depicts how a brassiere can be produced using the fabric blank ofthe invention. It is assumed that the breast cups 20 are knitted by aground stitch comprising inelastic yarn or inelastic and elastic yarn, areinforced section 22 below the breast cup comprising fabric whichadditionally includes elastic yarn, for example polyurethane yarn, and athird section 24 comprises a stitch similar to FIG. 3, namely includinginelastic yarn, elastic yarn and thermally bondable yarn. After heatfusing, it is now possible to cut along line 26 to achieve at a curvededge without the risk that this edge become frayed.

FIG. 6 shows how a panty-girdle or a pant can be produced using thefabric blank of the invention. The main part 30 is knitted by a groundstitch comprising inelastic yarn or inelastic and elastic yarn,optionally blended with cotton. The main part 30 is provided with a hamregion 32 defining the cut outs for the legs by a cutting line 34.Sections 36, indicated by slanted lines, is at first integral with theham regions 32. They comprise a stitch similar to FIG. 1, namelyincluding inelastic yarn and thermally bondable yarn, or similar to FIG.3, including inelastic yarn, elastic yarn and thermally bondable yarn.After heat fusing, a cut is made along line 34, and sections 36 arediscarded.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, in the claimsand/or in the accompanying drawings may, both separately and in anycombination thereof, be material for realizing the invention in diverseforms thereof.

1. A fabric blank, comprising a first yarn (10) consisting of polyamideor polyester or blends of any of these materials with cotton,characterized in that a second yarn (12) is included into at least aportion of said fabric blank, said second yarn (12) beingpolyether-based and thermally bonded to said first yarn (10).
 2. Thefabric blank of claim 1, characterized in that an elastic yarn (14) isinserted into at least a portion of said fabric blank.
 3. The fabricblank of claim 2, characterized in that said portion comprising theelastic yarn (14) and said portion comprising said thermally bonded yarn(12) are overlapped.
 4. The fabric blank of claim 2, characterized inthat said portion comprising the elastic yarn (14) and said portioncomprising said thermally bonded yarn (12) are different from oneanother.
 5. A method of manufacturing a fabric blank according to claim1, comprising the steps of: weaving or knitting or warp knitting saidfirst yarn; inserting said second yarn into at least a portion of fabricblank during or after weaving or knitting said first yarn; and heatfusing said second yarn to said first yarn.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the temperature during heat fusing is between about 110° C. and190° C.
 7. A garment, comprising the fabric blank of claim 1,characterized in that at least one portion of the fabric blankcomprising said thermally bonded yarn is in a region subjected to cutduring production of said garment.
 8. The garment of claim 7, whereinsaid garment is a brassiere, and said portion comprising said secondyarn extends below a breast cup.
 9. The garment of claim 7, wherein saidgarment is a panty, a body suit or a swim suit, and said portioncomprising said second yarn extends in the leg hem part.
 10. The methodof claim 5, further comprising inserting said elastic yarn into the sameor another portion of said fabric.